Lubricating device.



59. 253,439. A Patented Nov. H, I902.

LUBREEATING DEViGE.

ELVIN.

. W s.- E .5

(80 Model.)

7 UNITED STATES Pl vrririT OFFICE.

ALBERT G. ELVIN, OFSORANTON, PENNSYLVANIA. e

LUBRICATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 713,410, dated November 11, 1902. Application filed May 15, 1902. Serial No. 107,636. (ll'o modah) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT G. ELVIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricating Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lubricators for journals or other bearings; and the objects of the invention are to provide a continuous lubrication for an extended period of time, to

. facilitate the application of solid grease to a locomotive-axle.

journals and other hearings, to providea tion of a locomotive-axle box, showing the application of myinvention to the journal of Fig. 2 is a cross-section of all the parts, except the axle, taken on. the line-w a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa view of the lubricant-case and its attachments, constituting the principal features of 'my invention. Fig. 4 illustrates a substitute method ofconstructing the concave upper side of the case. Fig. 5 illustrates the form or configuration of a piece of solid lubricating material adapted to be used in connection with my device.

In the illustrations the form of my device is such as is suitable to locomotive axles or shafts; but it is evident that the top may be plain or convexed or any other suitable form for surfaces difierent from that of journals or axles.

Similar characters of reference denote like and corresponding parts throughout the views.

In the drawings, 1 denotes the journal of a locomotive-axle, fitted into a box 2, having the usual brass bearings 3 and lubricantcellar 4, the lubricant-collar being held in place by means of lugs 5-011 the cellar 4 coincidingwith lugs 6 on the journal-box 2 and pose of lubrication of the axle. Thejournalbox 2 shown also provides means for additional lubrication from the well 9, which has passage-Ways 10 leading through thebrass bearing 3. I

' In my device I substitute for the usual cotton-waste placed in the cellar 4 a lubricantcase, as shown in Fig. 3, with a solid block of lubricant fitted therein of the form shown in Fig. 5. The upper concave covering of the case is preferably constructed from wirecloth 11, for the wire-cloth may be substituted, perforated, or for'aminated material of various kinds, or the'same may be dispensed with altogether and the top constructed with wooden strips 12 12, wedge-shaped in crosssection and set with their edges downward, the object of the strips being to hold the lubricant mass 13 in integral form until it is used up. The lubricant 13 is pressedagainst the screen 11 by means of a sliding bottom 14, which exactly fits into the box or case 15 and is constrained upward by means of a conical spiral spring 16, having its apex resting on the bottom 17 of the cellar and its. upper coils. impinging on the sliding bottom 14 of indicator for the attendant tb see how far the lubricant has worn away without opening the I box.

In usingthe device the case 15 is place against the journal to be lubricated,with the screen 11 in contact with the moving surface. The solidlu'bricant being placed within the case is compressed against the opposite side'of the screen 11 by means of the spring 16 being constrained against the movable bot. tom 14 of the case. By placing the lubricantcase on the under side of the axlethe lubricant is supported and pressed into engagement with the axle by the coiled'spring, and as it wears away and gradually becomes lighter the coiled spring becomes elongated, and being under less strain is of course weaker, and in this way the lubricant is compressed equally hard against the axle whether the case be full or partially empty, the tension of the spring increasing or decreasing in direct pr portion with the weight of the mass supported. XVhere the strips 12 are substituted'for the wire-cloth, the pressure of the .spring underneath forces the lubricant between the strips, and they serve ,to hold it from breaking or rolling up in to separate masses, or, in other words, preserve the integrity of the whole. By constructing the strips wedge-shaped, as shown, I find that no difliculty is experienced in having the solid lubricant pressed up between them in engagement with the axle by the spring and slidable bottom above described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- r 1. The herein-described lubricating device comprised in a lubricant-case arranged to be fitted in the cellar of an axle-box, a movable bottom in said lubricant-case, a screen covering the area thereof opposite said bottom, springs arranged to constrain said bottom in the direction of said screen, said case being adapted to contain a mass of solid lubricant between said screen and movable bottom, substantially as and forthe purpose specified;

2. A lubricating device of the kind described comprised in a lubricantcase arranged to be fitted in the cellar of an axlebox, one side of said case being concave to conform to the cylindrical surface of a journal, a wire screen lining said concave side, a movable part substantially equal in area to the whole interior of the case and slidable therein, fitted Within said case opposite said concave side, and said case having (r-space for lubricant arranged between the screen aforesaid and said movable part, together with springs arranged to constrain said movable part against the mass of lubricant for the purpose of forcing the same through the screen aforesaid, the said case being adapted to contain a mass of solid lubricant between said screen and movable bottom, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In combination with the lubricant-cellar of an axle-box a lubricant-case adapted to hold a mass of solid lubricant, a movable bottom in said case, springs arranged to constrain said bottom against a mass of lubricant within the case, a pin or projecting part on said in ovable bottom extending out through slots in the side of the case and-a wall of the cellar aforesaid whereby the position of the said movable bottom is indicated, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In combination, the lubricant-cellar of an aXle-boX, a lubricant-case having a concave side disposed toward the axle to be lubricated, a screen orperforated cover closing the said concave side, a sliding bottom closing the opposite side of said case, and the interior of said case adapted to contain a mass or" solid lubricant, springs arranged between the slidable bottom aforesaid and the bottom of the cellar and adapted to constrain the contents of thecase against the screen aforesaid, a pin or projection on said slidable bottom extending through slotsin the side of the case and a wall of the cellar aforesaid for the purpose of indicating the position of said slidable bottom, all arranged to the joint operation substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ALBERT G. ELVIN.

\Vitnesses:

v F. J. DE LACEY,

D. G. MORAN. 

